Uconn

Like N.C. State in 1983, BYU praying for upset of UConn With video report By Roger Cleaveland Republican-American

BYU coach Jeff Judkins and players take time to pray prior to NCAA college basketball practice in Lincoln, Neb., Friday, March 28, 2014. BYU will play Connecticut in a Lincoln Regional women's semifinal basketball game on Saturday. (AP Photo/Nati Harnik)

LINCOLN, Neb. — One of the most stunning upsets in NCAA Tournament history came in 1983 when Jim Valvano's North Carolina State men's basketball team knocked off the heavily favored, high-flying Houston team of Akeem Olajuwon and Clyde Drexler. The Wolfpack won, 54-52, when Lorenzo Charles dunked off a Dereck Whittenburg air ball at the buzzer.

The Wolfpack's leading scorer was Thurl Bailey with 15 points.

The BYU women's team has breathed some life back into that game and drawn inspiration from it this week as they've prepared for today's NCAA Tournament Sweet 16 game against No. 1-ranked UConn.

"He texted me yesterday and said, 'You have to compete and survive and move on,'" Bailey said. "Before the season, I watched a story about his Cinderella team, and it's very inspirational. I am ready to follow in his footsteps, if I can."

UConn senior Stefanie Dolson said the Huskies respect all of their opponents, but they focus on preparing themselves as well as they can rather than worry about who is hoping to upset them.

"We're always prepared to play any type of team," Dolson said. "Every team wants to beat us. Every team wants to beat an undefeated team. We're always expecting that and always preparing for it. So whether it's a Cinderella team or the second-ranked team in the country, they still want to beat us. It doesn't really matter who they are. We're just going to focus on our game."

BYU is the 16th double-digit-seeded team to reach the Sweet 16. The only one to ever advance out of the Sweet 16 and into the regional final was No. 11 Gonzaga, which beat Louisville, 76-69, in the 2011 semifinals.

Still, BYU has knocked off two ranked teams in the first two rounds of this year's tournament, beating No. 16 N.C. State and No. 12 Nebraska.

"But I never imagined ever playing UConn," guard Kim Beeston said. "Getting here has been just the perfect way to go out, both (leading scorer) Jen (Hamson) and I are seniors. It couldn't mean more to be playing such a team. I think that we just want to go out and prove that we can play with the big dogs."

Beeston said the team has talked about the N.C. State men's win over Houston quite a bit this week.

"We've talked about it, and anything can happen in one night," she said. "It's just a matter of us going out there and playing our best and doing all that we can to showcase our talents and why we're here."

Bailey said she has worn her uncle's national championship ring, watched YouTube clips from the Wolfpack's upset and watched a documentary on his team.

"The whole theme of this tournament for us has been to come in with no fear," Bailey said. "UConn, you see the uniform and you know that they're a powerhouse. But we'll have no fear, and I have the most confidence ever in our team right now. If we play our game, I think we could be in a good position."

Opportunistic or not, the Cougars are in a difficult position today. Not only has UConn (36-0) won every game this season by at least 11 points, with an average margin of victory of 36 points, but the Huskies seldom lose to teams whom they're supposed to beat.

Since winning their first national championship in 1995, the lowest seeded team the Huskies have lost to in the NCAA Tournament was No. 4 Iowa State in 1999 in the Sweet 16 round.

"We know what we are up against," junior forward Xojian Harry said, "but we are like, 'We can do this, guys.'"

BYU, only the third No. 12 seed ever to advance to a regional, is the lowest at-large seed of this year's tournament. Essentially, it was the last team to get a bid.

BYU coach Jeff Judkins said without question this is a David-and-Goliath game, but the former NBA player and men's assistant coach at Utah has faith in his team.

"We have very good inside presence, high-low," Judkins said. "We move the ball well. We have outside shooting. We play very physical man-to-man defense. We go motion offense with a lot of quick hitters, like the NBA guys do from my NBA background. We play a lot like UConn."

He said the one difference is UConn has the best player in the country in Breanna Stewart.

"I've just got to get my team to go out there and believe they can play them, and don't get beaten right off the bat (by a jersey) with the name 'UConn' on it," Judkins said. "Just go out and play your game. You've got to make baskets against them or it's a long night. Hopefully, we'll play our best game, and they can play their worst game. That's what we're hoping for."

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